This weekend was a little different from my weekends of past Octobers. But, not that different from my weekends as of late. Recent Saturdays and Sundays have found me running a 5K on each day. Andrey and I get up (the dog wakes us), make breakfast, play with Pip, get dressed and head out. I slip into my Merrell Barefoot Pace Gloves and Andrey straps on his Vibram Five Fingers*. We set out and don't stop until those 3.1 miles (that .1 mile is the worst, worst part). Sometimes the run is good and we finish strong and I'm smiling. Sometimes the run is terrible and I hate it, and I hate the trail and my shoes and my feet and everything around me. But I finish.
So, when Andrey suggested we run the Rock N Roll Marathon Series' 10K in Prospect Park I timidly said okay. Before August I had never run a mile- ever. On Saturday I ran 6.25. And I finished smiling, exercised but not exhausted. I am so excitedly proud of myself, running was fun and interesting and so new, I'd never run further than 5K at one clip. And here I was finishing. It's never to late, lovelies. I would have never thought a year ago I'd be running for fun. Or that it would be such a cool thing to share with Andrey. Or that I'd be scouring Runners World the next night on the train. Life can really surprise you, and sometimes, you can really surprise yourself.
*A few weeks in to dating Andrey suggested I read Born to Run, which is basically propaganda for barefoot running. When he came to Huntington for the first time and saw our Merrell Store he was in awe- apparently, this is a rare thing? We tried a few running shoes for me, some Nikes but everything hurt my foot, even just walking in the store! We headed to the Merrell Store which Andrey thought would be a good idea since I live my life in flats. The extra arch support in the nonbarefoot running shoes was hurting my foot and not allowing my natural arch strength to take charge. I tried on the Pace Gloves and they felt like my normal shoes- they're so light and comfortable, the shoes never cause my feet to hurt. Also, they're easy to pack in a bag. If you're looking for a barefoot running experience, I highly, highly recommend these-- especially for you girls who wear flats all the time.
Fantastic post, Genevieve! Im so proud of you for the 10K, i wish i could have joined you! I'll definitely look into those shoes as soon as i'm home =)
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